McCain: We don’t need 20,000 new Border Patrol agents but I voted for it anyway

posted at 4:21 pm on July 30, 2013 by Allahpundit

In case there was any lingering shred of doubt, yes, the big Corker/Hoeven border amendment that helped the Gang of Eight win 68 votes in the Senate is, by and large, security theater. Take it from Maverick:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) helped write the Senate’s immigration bill and voted for an amendment that would spend $46 billion on new border security measures, while doubling the size of the Border Patrol. But now, McCain admits the plan was simply meant to secure Republican votes and that he is open to other ways to secure the border.

“I’ll give you a little straight talk, we don’t need 20,000 additional border patrol agents,” the Arizona senator said at an event sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

“I voted for it so friends of mine would have comfort that we are securing the border,” McCain added. “But the real securing of the border is with technology as opposed to individuals, although we do certainly need individuals.”

What he means there, of course, is political “comfort,” something GOP senators could point to next month when conservatives back home demand an explanation for why they voted for such a terrible bill. That’s the problem with the Gang’s work product in a nutshell: The point was to Do Something, not to do something that’s carefully designed to reduce illegal immigration. I’ve written about this before (more than once) but I can’t get over the fact that on a subject whose effects on American life are as far-reaching as immigration, with millions of illegals potentially placed on a citizenship track and billions of dollars appropriated to securing the border, there was barely even a pretense among supporters that they were crafting a bill that was smartly targeted at the problems with the system. It was pure horse-trading to arrive at a “solution” that would grant amnesty — the key plank for both Democrats and Republicans — with enough border security theater tossed in to placate the right. Democrats treated it as some sort of major concession when Pat Leahy agreed to hold one hearing on immigration in the course of passing the bill. Other Democrats didn’t bother to find out if the bill would create incentives for employers to hire illegals over American citizens until after they’d voted for cloture. No doubt many Republicans were guilty too.

The entire process reeks with contempt for their actual job description, crafting effective policy. Re-read the excerpt above. You’ve got a U.S. senator from the GOP, who’s ostensibly ventilating conservative concerns about more effective border control, flatly admitting that he voted for an ineffective, wasteful policy for political reasons. (And it is largely ineffective. One of the main problems with illegal immigration post-reform will be with visa overstays, something thousands of extra Border Patrol will do little to prevent.) You could defend McCain by arguing that he knew when he voted for it that the Gang bill was DOA in the House and therefore the 20,000 BP were irrelevant, but ask yourself how upset he’d be if Boehner decided to say “to hell with the Hastert Rule” and brought the Gang bill to the floor for a vote. Would McCain object on grounds that they never really meant for those 20,000 to join the federal payroll? Of course not. In fact, arguably the most amazing thing about what he said here — at an AFL-CIO event, do note — is his de facto admission that the Border Patrol fig leaf that GOP senators will be touting next month is, indeed, a fig leaf. Why would any conservative accept it as a defense to selling out on immigration after this? Your leaders obviously don’t take their jobs seriously anymore. Why anyone would turn out to vote in November next year after this, whatever ends up emerging from Congress on immigration, is completely beyond me.

As a video bonus, here’s McCain once again helping to push a key Democratic talking point. The video was uploaded, naturally, by the DNC.

Blowback

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I just hope these jobs go to veterans. You can throw any number of agents at the border but you’re never going to completely stop the flow of illegals, esp from countries in Latin America where the level of desperation is hard to quantify.

I just hope these jobs go to veterans. You can throw any number of agents at the border but you’re never going to completely stop the flow of illegals, esp from countries in Latin America where the level of desperation is hard to quantify.

bayam on July 30, 2013 at 4:24 PM

Yeah, you can stop the flow of illegals. If we can put a man on the moon and rovers on Mars we can stop the flow of illegals. Unfortunately the collusion between big business and government has made it beneficial to them to not stop the flow.

“In practice, nobody has entered and the few who have arrived did not reach Israel’s cities,” he continued. “The fence has completely stopped illegal migration to Israel, but it also has an additional function — namely counterterrorism.”

And yes AP, 50% of the illegal problem is the visa overstays, we get it. We still want the tall double wall concrete fence with an access road with the appropriate language in the law to make sure it happens. This was promised in the 80s and again in 2006. I’m tired of this sh!t.

I agree. And a special corner of hell… reserved and designed especially for them at that.

I’ll turn up to vote… but if the GOP continues along this vein, currying their own portfolio’s and scratching the backs of their fellow elitist club members of the political class rather than protecting the citizens and LEGAL immigrants of this nation and acting as our proxies in congress…. I’ll vote for the Democrats. It’s a sure means not only of putting those GOP congress members responsible for this ruinous bill and guilty of gross negligence and willfully shattering their duly sworn oath to serve their constituents and the nation out of the political class and back into the private sector… but it also puts a Democrat in their seat… and hastens the day when the people reject this behavior from both sides of the aisle and insists in TERM LIMITS to end this cronyism, reconstructs the parties, and returns control of the governance of this nation to its people.

When it comes to voting for a current member of the political class, with few and rare exceptions, be that individual GOP or Democrat… to quote an infamous and scurrilous woman, likely candidate for the 2016 presidential election:

If McCain had beaten Obama … I’m just trying to figure out how it would be any better.

It made me nauseous to vote for McCain. Now it makes me regretful and disgusted to remember that I did so. In some 25 years of voting, missing no regular elections, it is the only vote that I not only regret, but actually makes me ill.

McCain: “We don’t really need 30 million more foreign workers while we have 20 million unemployed American citizens, but who do you expect me to represent, anyway? My so-called constituents?? I’ve got big fat cat donors to worry about!!”

What the push for amnesty has exposed is how useless and corrupt most of the GOP elites are.I’m talking about you McCain, Rubio, Cantor and Ryan.The elites have no intention of securing the border and stopping illegals who cost average American citizens money in the form of lower wages and higher taxes.This is about cheap labor for the 1% paid for by law abiding taxpaying citizens. The GOP disgusts me.I am watching and intend to hold the GOP responsible if there is any amnesty for ANY illegals including 30 year old “children” aka “dreamers”.

What I can’t wrap my mind around is how the GOP has managed to ruin this opportunity to build trust with the American people.

Barack Obama and the Democrat party have shown their true nature. They’ve lied to our faces, called us foul names, ballooned the national debt. They’ve treated the people of this country with contempt. There’s never been a better time for the GOP to draw a stark contrast between us and them. And what have they done?… alienated their own base through perfidy and pandering.

How can you prove you’re a better alternative to the other guy… when you’re EXACTLY like the other guy?

“I voted for it so friends of mine would have comfort that we are securing the border,” McCain added.

Except that it doesn’t secure ANYTHING except Amnesty for illegals and a large number of low paid guest workers to take our few good paying tech jobs.

READ THE BILL.

DHS can do whatever they want. If the border will be secure then why does DHS have to conduct a study to figure out where to put 1000 beacon stations(emergency 011 service for illegals) the stations themselves and emergency crews to respond to distress calls.

McCain, you are such a lowlife. I used to think you might be a better leader than Obama, but I was wrong. And I was wrong to vote for you, too. You remind me of my mistake every time I see your ugly mug or hear your latest idiotic remarks.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) signaled Tuesday that the dramatic boost in border-security in the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill could be one of the provisions that may be changed in a potential House-Senate compromise.

During an immigration forum hosted by the AFL-CIO Tuesday, McCain – a key Senate Gang of Eight negotiator – said while a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented immigrants is a “fundamental element” of the bill, the “rest of it could be adjusted.” He singled out the border security parts as an example.

We’ll get rid of that in the conference committee. ESAD, nativist scum.

The only other U.S. military officer I can compare McCain to would be George Custer. Who, let’s face it, was an idiot who got his entire command and himself killed by violating orders in a quest for his definition of personal glory. He should have stuck to being a cartographer. (And as a Buckeye, I hereby apologize for my state producing the dimwit.)

McCain simply does not care how much damage this does. He just wants to be popular with his buddies in the rarified airs of the upper crust. Since the Democrats want undocumented voters, and the big donors want undocumented workers, he’ll make sure they have them.

Keep in mind that in Atlas Shrugged, John Galt reserved most of his contempt for, not the looters, but his old professor who “went along” with them on the grounds that there was no point in resisting.

Amazing, this bill has only passed the Senate. It is not law yet, and they are already telling the people that they are not going to enforce the provisions of it. In 1986 they waited until they got amnesty before they let it be known that they were not going to enforce the laws. This lifetime ruling class needs to be bounced out on their butts.

John McCain = S4B (Shiite for brains)
How is it that so many senators are SO STUPID?

Oh and I’ve just returned from a trip across the country. Attending a funeral at Arlington for my Aunt who will be buried next to my WWII BG uncle of the 65th ID, (she made it to 97 so not cheated at all … they made them tough in the last century), and while there I drove all over the place.
In my travels I had a small epiphany.
The REAL reason there will be no meaningful solutions to our immigration situation is that anything that might rock the boat will cause the complete COLLAPSE of the economy in and around Washington, D.C. Doubt me? Go have a look (and listen).

I just hope these jobs go to veterans. You can throw any number of agents at the border but you’re never going to completely stop the flow of illegals, esp from countries in Latin America where the level of desperation is hard to quantify.

bayam

Which is what we call a strawman. We don’t completely stop any other lawbreaking in this country either, so why is such an impossible feat required when it comes to illegal immigration? The only people who demand 100% effectiveness are amnesty supporters who argue that since these measure won’t stop everyone, then the only viable solution is to pass amnesty instead. It’s a silly argument, but then, what do you expect from silly amnesty supporters?